Setting Writing Goals

We’re almost at a New Year! Here are 10 Tips on setting goals for your writing in the coming year.

1. Reflect: Reflect on where you are now, and where you want to be next. Take at least a few minutes a day to pause and set goals for the next day. Reflect weekly, monthly, and quarterly as well as yearly!
2. Create SMART Goals! SMART Goals are:

3. Break bigger goals into smaller goals. Writing 50,000 words in a month is a great goal, but if you don’t plan out that goal into smaller, manageable parts, you are less likely to reach the bigger goal!

4. Track your progress. Tracking your progress can help you to see where you are at, and to make plans on where to go next.

5. Be flexible! Life happens. Don’t use life to make excuses all the time for not getting your writing done, but create flexibility so that when life happens you can still meet the goal. For example, instead of setting a goal to write for 30 minutes per day seven days a week, 31 days out of the month, set a goal to write for 6/7 days. In this way, if anything happens, you have a flex day built in, but are still aiming for a regular writing routine.

6. Share your goals with others, but be careful who you share with! Sharing with others can help you keep working towards your goals, but sharing with the wrong people can lead to discouragement. Choose carefully who you’ll share with.

7. Start small. If you’re trying to build a large writing routine all at once, you’re likely to not be able to carry it out and get discouraged. Start small and build up to a bigger routine if that’s your long term goal. Remember, 1 minute of writing is better than 0 minutes.

8. Focus on the process, not just the outcomes. It’s important to have an outcome goal, but the process is just as important as the outcome. It’s in the process that you are creating the routines and habits you’ll need to be successful.

9. Keep it fun! If you find yourself bored with a project, take a break, or allow yourself to spend at least a short time on something fun.

10. Reward yourself! Remember, when you reach a goal, even the smaller goals, it’s once step closer to achieving your dreams. Take the time to celebrate.